“I wouldn’t have wanted to come and watch that.”
Everton manager David Moyes did not mince his words after his side’s 0-0 draw away to Burnley, cutting a largely frustrated figure on the Turf Moor touchline and in his post-match press conference.
For a third game in a row, the Merseyside outfit had drawn a blank. The sense of missed opportunity was tangible against a willing but limited Burnley. Yet this was a game that Everton could easily have lost.
Burnley ended the stronger of the two sides. Jacob Bruun Larsen lifted a glorious chance over the bar, with substitute Zian Flemming sending an effort from a similar area against the post. While Martin Dubravka had made two smart saves to deny Beto and Thierno Barry, it was the home fans who greeted news of six additional minutes with most fervour, sensing a late opportunity.
This was a poor game between one team, in Burnley, largely devoid of Premier League quality and another, in Everton, deprived of all of their difference makers.
Things are looking particularly tight for Moyes’ side right now. The list of absentees on Saturday read like a who’s who of the squad’s leading lights. Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye are away at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), defender Jarrad Branthwaite is not yet back in full training, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall limped out of the recent Chelsea defeat with a hamstring complaint, while club captain Seamus Coleman remains on the sidelines.
Jack Grealish joined that cohort, having reported a “bit of a bug”, according to Moyes, in training.
Moyes named only eight substitutes, one short of a full complement, including two reserve goalkeepers and a pair of young defenders, in Reece Welch and Elijah Campbell, whose short- and long-term futures appear away from Everton.
Moyes’ side have shown signs of improvement this season, but this felt like a reversion to the days of the not-too-distant-past when they had little money to spend and were painfully short of quality.
In tone and atmosphere, the game was most reminiscent of the 3-2 defeat to Burnley in April 2022 when both sides were battling relegation — albeit without the sucker-punch conclusion.
David Moyes attempts to get his message to Dwight McNeil (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
It was a reminder too that years of underinvestment in a still hollowed-out squad will take time to fix — and that some of the summer signings will need time to bed in.
“We were missing a lot of creativity,” Moyes said. “It was always going to be a challenge but that was probably as poor as we’ve played. But you get a clean sheet and take a point. Burnley has never been an easy place to come. Maybe it’ll prove important later in the season.”
Bereft of Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall and Co, Everton do not look well suited to navigating the challenges of the next couple of weeks. Winning games against any Premier League side right now will be a struggle, with goals in short supply. The individualism that has helped swing matches in their favour is, for now, unavailable.
In the No 10 role, Carlos Alcaraz continues to blow hot and cold, fluctuating between the near-sublime and the ridiculous within the same move. The Argentine is erratic in a way Moyes favourite Dewsbury-Hall is not. Winger Dwight McNeil, meanwhile, looks a shadow of his former self since returning from knee trouble sustained last December.
Tyler Dibling fared better on just his second league start since his initial £35million summer move from Southampton, offering some ingenuity in the final third. Lightweight but technical, Moyes declared himself pleased with the 19-year-old’s display.
Injuries and AFCON have shone a spotlight on Everton’s lack of depth, and the need to do more in future windows. But there are other long-standing issues that remain regardless, from the limited attacking output of the two full-backs Jake O’Brien and Vitalii Mykolenko, to the lack of ball progression from central midfield.
There were moments when Burnley doubled up on Dibling down the right, granting O’Brien almost free rein. In the recent 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, Grealish pointedly had to beckon Mykolenko forward with Everton chasing the game. Moyes’ side have often looked most balanced this season with the more attack-minded James Garner, a key central midfielder, at right-back.
Tyler Dibling made his second league start for Everton (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Lacking passing options at Turf Moor, central defender Michael Keane was twice caught trying to dribble out of defence.
This was a disjointed performance in which a threadbare Everton tired.
“We came thinking we could come away with three points,” midfielder Tim Iroegbunam said. “We didn’t do enough to create enough chances and it wasn’t really a great performance.
“I wouldn’t say much of a problem (being without key players). We didn’t have that confidence to play passes forward, to get into the final third. We didn’t really get the ball into the box enough or do much to cause any problems for them.”
The need for more is clear. Everton planned to do the bulk of their transfer business at the end of the season, and the early indications are still that January is likely to be quiet.
They are assessing options in a number of key positions, including right-back, but remain wary of committing sums of money to short-term fixes. For now, they are 12 points clear of relegation and well away from danger.
Whether it comes in the upcoming window or from returning players, though, Moyes and his threadbare squad could do with help.
The Scot said in his post-match press conference that he hoped Grealish would return next week, with a trip to Nottingham Forest to come on Tuesday before a home game against Brentford.
A January return for Branthwaite was always the target. Ndiaye and Gueye will most likely be back by the middle of next month, providing a further boost.
Until then, or an unlikely transfer u-turn, Everton face a battle to avoid more short-term pain.